by Four children are in critical condition after falling through the ice of a lake in Solihull, police said.
A search and rescue operation is underway at Babbs Mill Park after the children fell into the water and suffered cardiac arrest.
Police have not confirmed the number of children involved in the incident – or whether any are still missing – but initial reports suggested there were as many as six children in the freezing waters.
West Midlands Police Superintendent Richard Harris said teams would continue to search the lake overnight.
Superintendent Harris said: “When firefighters arrived on the scene, we were advised there were up to six people in the water.
Rescue is on the spot
“So after rescuing the four children, we continued the search and rescue operation to confirm if there were any others in the water.”
However, he said, given the temperature, the ages of the children involved and the amount of time they would have been in the water, that meant it was “no longer a search operation. and rescue”.
Teams can be seen searching the murky waters of the local nature reserve on inflatable dinghies and using torches.
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Research on Lake Solihull continues
The teams “break the ice in the lake”
A witness told Sky News: ‘I saw firefighters in the lake breaking up the ice.
He said he saw a number of people in distress, including three receiving medical attention. Temperatures were well below freezing on Sunday evening.
Richard Stanton of the West Midlands Fire Service said that by the time fire crews arrived at the scene, police and members of the public were in the water trying to reach the children.
One officer suffered mild hypothermia and was also taken to hospital.
Emergency services swam to the first child before rescuing three more children.
All received advanced resuscitation care and were taken to hospital where they are on life support.
Two are cared for by Birmingham Children’s Hospital and the others by the city’s Heartland’s Hospital. No clinical updates or details on the ages of the children were provided.
Emergency personnel search the lake
Videos show children playing on the ice
Reports at the scene and videos on social media indicate children were playing on the ice of a pond and fell, firefighters said.
In an earlier statement, he said: “Our specialist water rescue teams arrived and acted confidently to take control of the scene and carry out rescues using specialist equipment and entering the water.
“The victims received medical assistance at the scene from firefighters and paramedics before being taken to nearby hospitals.”
